Confession time: I have a hard time with listening comprehension. It’s a good thing the SATs were “reading comprehension” because I would not have gotten a good score if I had to listen to those boring paragraphs aloud.

It’s for this reason (among others) that I took a long time to get into podcasts. Then when I had a 20+ minute commute to work on public transit I got really into it because I can’t read on moving vehicles (barf) and listening to music is just boring (jk). And now I have 5 minute commute in my car and I don’t have time! And I certainly cant listen while I work because I will a) not work or b) not listen. Woe is me right?

I don’t always listen to podcasts, but when I do:

The Nerdist: Duh. But I really only listen to the ones that are interviews with people I’m interested in and even then I don’t always get through them.

Here’s the Thing: I’m not a big Alec Baldwin fan (I’m mostly neutral) but these interviews are really interesting. Not at all what you would expect.

Radiolab: It took me a few episodes to get into these but if you start with the shorts it’s a lot more digestible and totally gets you hooked.

99% Invisible: I LOVE this show. The episodes are 5 minutes long and so fascinating. They are very loosely based around architecture and I’ve learned so much and they often leave me pondering ideas for days after listening.

Hardcore History: This podcast doesn’t update much, but oh man, they are epic. A five part series about Genghis Khan? All right then! I listened to it while packing/cleaning my last apartment and it was alternately motivating and distracting.

I’ve been testing out some new podcasts but haven’t found anything else that I really like. Which is probably a good thing because I’m hours and hours behind on the stuff I am listening to! What are your favorites?